Ambre Energy plant

Australia-based Ambre Energy has proposed a $375 million coal plant in southeastern Montana. The plant would produce an estimated 4.4 million tons of high-efficiency coal per year, eventually increasing to as much as 17 million tons per year, by stripping the coal of moisture in 1,000 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Developers say the process would make it competitive in terms of heat value with more expensive Appalachian coal. The proposed plant would also produce 1.6 million barrels of synthetic crude oil each year.

Governor Schweitzer said the project could make Montana more competitive with Wyoming's coal production, which is the highest in the nation with more than 400 million tons mined annually. "We can take coal worth $10 a ton and make it worth $200 a ton," he said.

Construction on the project would begin in 2010, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of 2011. To move forward, the project will need a federal loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to back 80 percent of the projected costs with taxpayer money.

In 2010, the Sierra Club concluded that the project was not moving forward. According to news reports in January 2011, Ambre Energy was pursuing plans to create a coal export terminal south of Seattle.

Project Details
Sponsor: Ambre Energy Location: Southeastern MT Size: Type: Coal beneficiation and coal-to-liquids Projected in service: 2011 Status: Abandoned

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Australia and coal
 * Montana and coal
 * United States and coal
 * US proposed coal plants (both active and cancelled)
 * Coal plants cancelled in 2010
 * State-by-state guide to information on coal in the United States (or click on the map)
 * Coal beneficiation